Dr. Adrian “Ian” Laurel wasn’t surprised seeing volleyball grow from being played in small, sweltering gyms into the country’s biggest, most modern arenas.

“For me, I wasn’t really that surprised. I was there from the beginning. I was there all those years from the start until its steady growth to what it has become now,” Laurel, one of the few personalities who cured Philippine volleyball from being a dormant sport into the biggest, most prestigious and most popular sport in the country today.

A physician by profession, Laurel is a beloved figure in the local volleyball scene as former president of the defunct Philippine Superliga (PSL) and now head of the premier grassroots tournament Shakey’s Super League (SSL) and Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL).

One of the prime movers that made the sport popular today, Laurel is a volleyball person through and through.

A product of University of Santo Tomas (UST), Laurel is a decorated setter playing for the Growling Tigers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) from 1991 to 1995.

In fact, during his playing days, he helped the Tigers win the crown in 1992 and played a crucial role when they achieved a perfect 14-0 sweep of the 1995 season, where he also emerged as the Most Valuable Player.

But a professional career in volleyball did not exist back then.

After exhausting his UAAP eligibility, Laurel concentrated on his medical studies after earning a nursing degree. Eventually, he landed in the Top 16 of the physician licensure exams and practiced his profession.

Still, the call of the sport was hard to resist.

Birth of commercial leagues

In 2004, Sports Vision launched what would become the country’s first-ever women’s commercial volleyball tournament — the Shakey’s V-League (SVL) — featuring teams from the UAAP and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Laurel joined the ride that would propel him back into the volleyball scene — not as a player — but as an important stakeholder.

“Back then it was just the collegiate level that was existing. So, I got back into volleyball in the Shakey’s V-League when they needed someone to do the commentary,” he recalled.

“I even started as a courtside reporter when the late and very magnanimous (SVL co-founder) Jun Bernardino, Sir Ricky (Palou) and Sir Tony (Liao) called for someone to do it. I took that chance to get involved again.”

“I started as an on-cam reporter, then eventually I became an analyst, part of the panel and then an anchor. I went through all that step-by-step.”

While the SVL gave school teams a new avenue to test their skills outside the UAAP and NCAA, Laurel felt something was amiss.

“And then as I was doing it, it opened my eyes more about what’s lacking that time. That is, after college players have no other leagues to compete in,” Laurel said.

“That time, the Shakey’s V-League only had college teams as participants with just some additions outside their college lineup.”

In 2013, Laurel teamed up with influential sports elder statesman Popoy Juico, former Philippine Sports Commission executives Ariel Paredes and Ginio Panganiban, and now Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara to come up with the country’s first purely club league — the PSL.

Featuring players who have graduated from the collegiate ranks, the PSL took off successfully.

PSL introduced innovations at par with international play like the use of video challenge, holding a rookie draft and taking the games outside of Metro Manila. The league also launched a men’s tournament and a beach volleyball contest.

“What we tried to do in the PSL was to give graduating players five to 10 years more of playing career as well as to contribute to the national team’s cause,” Laurel said.

“I think that was my first foray into real ‘organization’ of the sport with the PSL. It was really a vision that I had of filling up the gap for players to continue playing after their college years.”

“Those were the steps I took — filling up where there needs to be filled up.”

Great leap forward

Laurel considers the last two decades as a pivotal stretch that fueled the volleyball fever in the country.

“I can mention maybe a few turning points in my mind, evidence that I know it’s just a matter of time before it blows up,” he said.

“First was when we started covering the UAAP. I was also an analyst and anchor for ABS-CBN in the UAAP. When we did an Ateneo-La Salle game that filled up Araneta Coliseum to the rafters, that’s about 19,700 plus fans.”

“Second, was when we opened the PSL. Ultra (Philsports Arena) was packed during the opening day. We’re also the first to bring a club league to the Mall of Asia Arena and we’re able to attract at least 10,000 fans.”

The PSL and V-League, which eventually rebranded into the Premier Volleyball League, upped the ante not just in the level of competition but also in bringing the sport closer to fans.

“Yes, even up to now, with the number of leagues that have come up, everyone is doing their best. Like that time, when the PSL was starting, we were talking with the SVL back then that we will not encroach on the collegiate level, we’ll get the players who have graduated from college. That’s what happened,” Laurel said.

“But then it came to a time when they also wanted to go to our level of having graduate players. Then the pandemic happened, and they (PVL) turned professional.”

The Covid-19 pandemic took its toll on PSL, which eventually folded following the decision of its member clubs to turn pro.

“After the pandemic, we looked to fill up the gap at the collegiate level after they moved up to the pros. Luckily enough, we have our friends from Shakey’s who wanted to support volleyball. So, that’s when we put up the SSL.”

SSL was a hit when it started in 2022 with all 18 teams from the UAAP and NCAA participating. A national invitational tournament was launched the following year along with the SGVIL — a competition featuring the cream of the crop high school teams from all over the country.

The PVL has been consistently drawing crowds by the thousands in major arenas while SSL and SGVIL are also doing the same with fans looking to get a peek at future stars.

Busy bee

Laurel admits that being head of a volleyball league is difficult as he also actively practices his profession.

But he embraces the challenge.

“Maybe because of my passion and dedication to volleyball, I make sure to find time for it. Of course, there are days that I need to prioritize my medical practice so I put my work organizing the SSL on the side,” he said.

“It’s really about balancing time and with regards to the SSL I have a dedicated and very capable board.”

Outside of volleyball, Laurel is a passionate golfer.

“After playing volleyball I picked up golf right away. I like the sport (golf) and I’m passionate about the sport because it’s very challenging,” he said,

Laurel finds time to swing at the fairways thrice a week either at the Manila Southwoods or in Eagleridge.

“There are good days and there are bad days but it’s how you react to those bad shots. How to recover and if you have good shots, it’s how you’ll use it to your advantage to finish with a good card,” said Laurel, who is also the chairman of the UST Rectors’ Cup, where proceeds go to the school’s athletic program.

But for now, Laurel’s other interests will be put aside in the coming days as the 2024 season of SGVIL is set to take center stage this week.

The SSL National Invitationals is scheduled in July followed by the centerpiece Preseason Collegiate Championship.

Indeed, Laurel is a busy bee when it comes to volleyball.

But he has no complaints. He’s living the dream.